Are Sheva's struggles making Chelsea a better team?

	Andriy Shevchenko was a prolific scorer at AC Milan, but since joining Chelsea, he has only one goal through nine matches. AP
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These are good-old-fashioned sound-and-fury days for Andriy Shevchenko.

Everyone in London, from the tabloids, to the BBC talking heads, to the blue-robed guests at the Hotel at Chelsea, has an opinion about the Ukrainian striker's early-season form.

"Bench him!" suggest the school-of-hard-knocks avuncular types.

"Sell him," argue the economists and accountants (and Italian journalists who think AC Milan might reacquire him in January).

"Lynch him," shout the drunkards.

The main consensus is that Sheva should stop doing underwear ads and playing golf with Tiger Woods, and start scoring goals for Chelsea. After all, Roman Abramovich didn't shell out $58 million just so the Stamford Bridge faithful could ogle Mrs. Shevchenko, though I hope they thank the club owner often for this bonus feature.

No, Uncle Roman shelled out $58 million to acquire the best striker in the world, a man who has averaged a goal every 156 minutes over his career -- an average that holds steady in European competition. In other words, Uncle Roman bought what he and José Mourinho consider to be the final piece in the Champions League puzzle.

But those numbers and that puzzle-piece metaphor and all those goals at the San Siro don't mean diddly if Sheva-gol can't get the goal part right. In just two short (very expensive) years, excellence has become par for the course at Stamford Bridge, and spoiled Chelsea fans don't take kindly to failed expectations.

Quite rightly, they don't understand how someone of Sheva's obvious skill can't knock in a goal or two considering the talent that surrounds him. With the likes of Arjen Robben, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard operating nearby, surely something has to break, doesn't it? I mean, even a blind squirrel would find a nut if he fell into a bucket of nuts. And look at Didier Drogba! He's not half the striker you are, Andriy, yet he's bagging goals like they're on sale at Sam's Club. Why can't you do the same?

And therein, my friends, lies what's been overlooked in this entire Sheva hubbub: Lost in the madding crowd noise is the possibility that maybe, must maybe, Drogba is scoring at will because Sheva graces the spot next to him on the pitch.

Look, every yin needs its yang. Pelé had Garrincha. Van Basten had Gullit. Laurel had Hardy. Captain had Tenille. And so on.

If you listen to Chelsea insiders, you'll see that they understand this. They get it, in a very Colbertian way. The other day, Mourinho shrugged at Sheva's bombastic critics and said, "He already has the beating of his markers. The work he put in for the team without the ball was very good."

"I hope everyone noticed his role in the first goal in Sofia in the Champions League last week," club captain John Terry said on Sunday. "He came deep, took a pass, held off a defender, and curled the ball out wide. That's how we got the space to deliver the cross from which we ultimately scored. Sheva's goals will come but his work and input are there."

Well said. John-o may not know enough to ask how old his backseat trysts are, but he knows the game. Shevchenko's quiet input is indeed, as Mourinho put it, "for the team," and this particularly benefits the flashy Drogba. Unlike last year's Chelsea strikers, Sheva can craftily drop deep to support the midfield. This opens up space for Drogba, the flankers and Lampard.

Furthermore, every defender in England, from Man U's Rio Ferdinand to Reading's Nicky Shorey, knows that Shevchenko could light up the scoreboard at any moment, so they must key on him, which takes pressure off Drogba in dangerous situations like counterattacks and free kicks. So Drogba gets the goal and the praise.

This is all strikingly similar to baseball star Alex Rodriguez's transfer to the New York Yankees a few years ago. He arrived in the Bronx with a massive contract and massive smile. Then, he struggled. But his mere presence helped take pressure off Derek Jeter and turned turned the Yankees' captain into the paradigm of pinstripe stability.

A-Rod struggled again earlier this season, but Jeter had a fine season, and toward the end A-Rod himself started slamming home runs and driving in runs. Now the Yankees are in the playoffs again (where, if there is a God, they will lose promptly to my beloved Detroit Tigers).

At Chelsea, Sheva arrived carrying 58 million blue-robed monkeys on his back. He appears to be struggling under their combined weight, but his mere presence has made Drogba a better player and made Chelsea a better side.

Shrug off the Middlesbrough loss and the Aston Villa draw as anomalies -- the Blues are right on track. When they take the field next May in Athens for the Champions League final, their fans will be more than thankful that Sheva is with them. And not just for his wife.